Artist presentation

Chris Mann

‭ Chris Mann (b. 1993) is a photographer from South Yorkshire, currently based in‬ London, UK.‬ Visually distilling the space around him, his work oscillates between the natural and‬ man-made world, creating ambiguous, open-ended images that trigger curiosity,‬ escapism, and invite the viewer's imagination to freely roam.‬ Working predominantly with black and white 35mm film and silver gelatin printing, he‬ processes and hand-prints everything in his East London darkroom. His work has been‬ exhibited across Europe and featured in various publications globally. He has been‬ shortlisted for the Palm* Photo Prize and selected as an emerging European talent by‬ GUP magazine. More recently, he was invited to exhibit at the 7th edition of‬ InCadaqués Photo Festival. His book,'Valley of the Moon,' was published in 2023 by‬ Guest Editions.‬

Artist statement

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‘Interzone’ is the name I give to the visual territory I seek through my photography. I‬ think of it as the space between reality and imagination, ephemerality and‬ timelessness, a visual space neither here nor there, where universal dichotomies - nature and man, darkness and light - oscillate in a reality unbound by time and place.‬ ‘Interzone’ depicts my ongoing photographic body of work, an evolving reflection of‬ the concerns, questions, and solace I find through the medium. I shoot entirely on‬

‭black and white 35mm film, and print everything by hand in the darkroom. This‬ submission consists of scanned fiber based silver gelatin prints, tactile objects at the‬ center of my analogue practice.‬ I’m not interested in documenting time and place as we know them. Instead, I aim to‬ create images that are open to interpretation, where meaning shifts from viewer to‬ viewer but still carries something universal. I’m drawn to ambiguity, anonymity, and‬ unexpected connections between images, between subjects, and between life’s‬ rhythms. With‬‭ I nt erzone‬‭ , I invite viewers to bring their own imagination into the‬ photographs, and find space and solace within the work rather than be directed by it.‬